Robert S. Garnett

Robert Selden Garnett (16 December 1819-13 July 1861) was a Brigadier-General of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Garnett was killed at the Battle of Corrick's Ford on 13 July 1861, the first general officer to die during the war.

Biography
Robert Selden Garnett was born in Essex County, Virginia on 16 December 1819, the cousin of US senator Robert M.T. Hunter and Confederate general Richard B. Garnett. Garnett graduated from West Point in 1841, 27th in a class of 52 students, and he was an aide-de-camp under General John E. Wool before serving under Zachary Taylor during the Mexican-American War. After the war, Garnett served in the US Army in Washington, fighting against Native Americans until the outbreak of the American Civil War. Garnett resigned his commission in April 1861 to join the Confederate States Army back in his home state of Virginia, and Robert E. Lee sent Garnett to organize Confederate forces in the area near Philippi in West Virginia. After a defeat at Rich Mountain, Garnett ordered for his army to withdraw, but it was engaged by a Union army at Corrick's Ford. Garnett was shot dead by a Union volley while leading the rear guard of his army into battle, and he was buried at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York City, New York next to his wife.